Markieff Morris: Wizards better than Raptors; Giannis Antetokounmpo: Bucks better than Celtics

The Raptors beat the Wizards 4-2 in their first-round series. The Celtics beat the Bucks 4-3 in their first-round series.

But that didn’t stop players on Washington and Milwaukee from claiming superiority.

Wizards forward Markieff Morris, via Hoop District:

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, via ESPN:

I thought we were the better team. But, unfortunately, we cannot move to the second round. But it was a good series. But we have a better team.

Antetokounmpo has a much stronger case.

The Bucks pushed Boston – without Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis, which is the team we’re judging – to seven games. The home team won all seven games. The Bucks outscored the Celtics by 12.3 points per game in Milwaukee – more than the Celtics’ advantage in Boston, 10.3 points per game. If this series were played on a neutral court – the theoretical best way to judge “better team” – the Bucks might have won.

Toronto was better than Washington all season and looked better throughout the series. That result wasn’t a fluke. The Wizards keep talking big, and – led by John Wall and Bradley Beal – they’re pretty talented. But they too rarely back it up. This seems like more of the same.